GSA Capital Partners LLP Raises Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.09.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $71.30 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.86 and a fifty-two week high of $71.42.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,355.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at $3,554,355.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,380,074 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

About Unum Group

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.